All We Know Is Falling
by SydneyAustralia
Summary: Stephanie. Mercedes gave me this storyline. Read and review, please.


**Chapter One: All We Know**

**A/N: I have to point out, I don't own Maximum Ride. I technically don't own this storyline, Stephanie. Mercedes came up with it but I helped her with the characters of the second 'Flock'. Fang/Max romance already established in MAX, this is basically my version of a sixth MR book. **

**Enjoy.**

The casket was in the front of the room, Mom and Ella sat in the second row with Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy. And Fang was sitting right next to me, holding my hand. I didn't know how to feel. Jeb was dead. The proof was right here, in the sleek black coffin that my raptor vision trained on. The preacher was going on about how 'Dr. Jeb Batchelder left behind many people on his way to heavenly reward. A daughter and many friends will miss him dearly,' when he didn't know Jeb.

I hated Jeb. I hated him, for leaving us, for being a scientist, for dying. And so I was numb. The Voice was gone, I knew. And that kind of terrified me, deep down. I hadn't heard the droning monotone in over a week. It had been yelling at me when we were in that big battle, and then when Jeb fell, a bullet in his temple, the Voice cut off abruptly. And then I'd been distracted.

I absently drew my finger across the thin scar at my neck. Where an M-Geek had slashed open my skin with its sharp claw-like fingers. My head hurt a bit, and I felt this pinching feeling behind my eyes. I heard the doors of the church open, and I looked back to glimpse three or four people slip in and sit in the back pew.

I was instantly on guard: strangers didn't really bring back good memories. When it was time to walk over and say our 'goodbyes' to Jeb- or the corpse that was once Jeb- I was the first to go. I leaned over, staring at my biological father's still, cold face, and I hesitantly plucked something from my pocket.

A feather, a single tawny brown feather that I'd removed from my wings. I laid it on his chest, took one last look, and then I turned and sat back down. The strangers had gotten in line as well. I'd expected white coats, but these four were no scientists. I automatically scanned them over, checking them for anything suspicious.

They couldn't be more than a year older than us, if they were older than us at all. Three girls and a boy, all tall and lean. The only brunette girl had a serious, calculating expression as she waited her turn, twisting a finger through her waist length hair absently. Right next to her, humming lowly, was a slightly shorter, curvy girl with dark blonde, almost brown hair that was interspersed with silvery blonde natural highlights and fell to her chin.

The third girl was taller than the other girls, by at least three inches. She was skinny like a pole, with just-past-her-shoulders golden blonde hair. Her face was thin and heart shaped, with a wide mouth and an intelligent glint in her eyes. The only boy of their little group was tall, taller than Fang, and skinnier than Iggy.

He had darker hair than the brunette, an almost black brown that dripped down to almost cover his eyes. He was very, very pale, like the second girl, and a scar ran down the underside of his jaw, spider thin and practically unnoticeable. They all had this air around them that reminded me of something.

They could be Erasers. They were all attractive, I guess, but the Erasers –and Itex, for that matter- were gone. They weren't robots of any kind that I had seen, because they all had non-green eyes and their movements were soft and graceful. And then I took in their clothing. They were all very clean, and I mean clean. Like, I just took a twenty minute long shower clean.

Their clothes were all very well made, like designer clothes, and they each wore dark colors in keeping with mourning. I myself wore a black button up shirt and a pair of black slacks. Fang didn't even have to go shopping for all black clothes.

The first girl looked rather uncomfortable in her clothes, a pair of loose gray pants and a flowing, loose black silk tank top. The second girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet, wearing a dress that was red at the top and flowed to about three inches above her knees in wavy ruffles of black wrinkled fabric. On her bony, long hands were a pair of red leather driving gloves- fingerless and held onto her hands by thick antique gold buckles.

The third girl wore a plain black dress that came to her knees with a 'V' shaped neckline and a matching long-sleeved white knit shrug. The boy matched the second girl, and like the first he was very uncomfortable. He wore a red button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, his shirttails untucked over his black jeans. His hair was perfectly straight, falling in his eyes and styled like he'd flat ironed it this morning.

After the first and second girls- that was annoying, calling them that. I'll just call them by numbers or colors or something. Girls 1 and 2 were walking back down the aisle when Girl 2 suddenly swung around to stare at me. She danced towards me, and Fang stepped in front of me in an inconspicuous defensive position.

Girl 2 hurtled to a stop in front of Fang, tilting her head to the side and standing on her tip-toes to peer up at him with this wide, innocent stare. She reached out a slender hand and Fang immediately stepped back, glowering at her. She raised her eyebrows and looked offended, like she didn't expect him to do that. So then, quicker than she should have been, she snapped out her arm and grabbed Fang's wrist tightly.

"Let go." He growled out. She let go easily, grinning and getting her innocent look back. She didn't seem to mean any harm.

"Sydney!" Girl 1 hissed, looking livid.

"But, Steph, they're just like us!" Sydney said, confused. Like us? How could they be 'like us'? Just then Stephanie looked at me and made a small gesture to the taller blonde.

"Erica, could you…" She trailed off.

"Sorry." Erica said to us, and then, before we could do anything, my vision went black and I fell backwards.


End file.
